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All posts for the month November, 2012

This Friday I will be taking the walk that meets outside No. 1, Poultry on Cheapside. The walk last around 1 1/2 hours, finishing at The Black Friar pub.

My next walk sees me embark on the City Information Centre walks & will be on Tuesday4th December at 2 pm from outside The City Information Centre. This walk is called ‘Stories of Fleet Street’ & last approx. 2 hrs.

I shall, as ever, be looking forward to meeting you all on either or both walks. If however, you are unable to make these dates, don’t worry I will be out on Friday 7th December.

There were a couple of nice sunny days last week & I was out on a solitary perambulation with my camera & took some photos to share with you!

Well, that was a shock. I just typed in the date for the heading & look – only a month until Xmas!!

Well, I think you ought to get the tours in this year, while there’s still time!

This Friday 23rd November 2012 I shall be leading a walk from outside No.1, Poultry at 1.30 pm – outside the Cheapside entrance.

The tour will take in a medieval Monastery, a couple of Castles, Wren’s world famous iconic Cathedral, a historic church, many wonderfully ancient lanes & courts, but also several splendid Public Houses! How can you afford to miss this array of delights!

I look forward to introducing you to these fascinating places – see you Friday!

We enjoyed (almost) dry weather this afternoon, although the temperature has began to plummet (O.K so we know it will reach -10 degrees this winter – I don’t think this is a complaint!)

I have a feeling that photographs may be even more difficult to obtain when frostbite affects the fingers! However, there are a couple here…

Here you can view the interior of the coutyard of the Apothecaries Hall, which was our penultimate stop.This is another view of the courtyard of the Apothecaries Hall, with a plaque commemorating the visit of the Lord Mayor in 1987 after refurbishment works.

London is such an intimate area that you are bound to bump into people you know. This happened to us as we were just leaving the courtyard. An American colleague of mine from the City Guides course this year, passed me by in the shadows of the ancient entrance gate!

Two of the lovely women on my tour in Apothecaries Hall Courtyard, (seen pointing out the apothecaries jar positioned high up on the wall!)

Why not join me this Friday 16th November 2012 to find out about Castles & Churches, a Monastery & a Palace & some very groovy old Pubs in the City? Also I will tell you about the Playhouse Theatre, which William Shakespeare wrote ‘The Tempest‘ for.

Can you guess the very un-girly gifts Charles II gave to his mistress Nell Gwynne? Come along & I will spill the beans! (No, they weren’t vegetables or seeds).

Well, there we are – we now have a NEW Lord Mayor – officially in office for the coming year. Alderman Roger Gifford, banker has become 685th Lord Mayor in history & taken over from out-going Lord Mayor David Wooton.

However, I was told the delay in the Lord Mayor returning to his new home, the Mansion House, was due to the beautiful 300 years old golden coach breaking down. Was this true? Was this the banker’s curse? In his publicity interviews Alderman Roger Gifford promised to improve the tarnished bankers image, but did the golden coach mire the image further?

On a less hypothetical note, I can tell you that the Free City Tour I took after the Lord Mayor’s Show, involved 18 visitors accompanying me to St. Mary le-Bow, St. Paul’s Cathedral, 1, ew Change, the site of a monastery, a castle, a theatre & a couple of pubs – though we did not have enough time to enter any of them together.

A truly International group, with visitors from Russia, Canada , Japan & Charleston, America, as well as home grown folk. They were a delightful crowd!

This year’s mayor’s charity is “The City in Society”. This comprises the City Music Foundation & the Lord Mayor’s Scholarship Programmes. Sir John Cass’s Foundation & the Lord Mayor Scolarship Programme will meet the costs of tuition & maintenance fees for young Londoners facing financial hardship at University. The Mansion House scholarship scheme will be offering scholarships to overseas students from developing countries for masters degrees at British Universities & work placements in the financial services sector here. These offers of financial support are desperately needed – but seems rather ironic coming from a guy whose lifelong background is with those who make profit from loans to students & will now be offering to GIVE students money, no strings attached!

The Gifford Wood Appeal will fund the planting of 4,500 trees on a 5-acre site acquired by the City of London. To extend Epping Forest & plant native oak & hornbeam trees. Also to plant pioneer species, more tolerant of projected changes in climate & create a seed bank to secure these species for the future. This will tie-in neatly with the educational work of the recently opened visitor centre “The View” situated next to Queen Elizabeth’s 16th century Hunting Lodge in Eppping Forest. So, here we have the promise of the City giving something back, not only to the coming student generation, but to all generations in the way of trees for our future environment.

This is aimed particularly at all those unable to attend the Free tours taking place after the Lord Mayor’s Parade on Saturday 10th November 2012The walk will set off from 1, Poultry on Cheapside at 3pm

I shall be leading a Preview of this tour at 1.30pm TOMORROW Friday 9th November 2012

Meet at 1, Poultry on Cheapside

I shall be introducing you to a lot of little lanes, courts & alleys you may be unfamiliar with! We will also be looking at St Mary le-Bow church, 1, New Change shopping centre & St. Paul’s Cathedral.

I am keen to meet all those who can only come on Friday, but also look forward to meeting everyone who comes along after the Lord Mayor’s Parade!

All welcome!!
P.S. The NEW Lord Mayor is Alderman Roger Gifford everyone’s favourite – a Banker. So don’t forget to give him a special cheer.

Visiting my friend Dianne in Plymouth I suggested we visit the ancient town of Totnes – recently famous as first British town to introduce its own local alternative currency the Totnes Pound. This is a beautiful town set above the river Dart & said to have more listed buildings than any other in the county. To start at the beginning – generally a good perspective, takes us to “A History of Britain” written by Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1136, (I’d like to be known in similar terms as Zena of London – because I am!) In this he says that the ‘Coast of Totnes’ is where Brutus of Troy, the (mythical?) founder of Britain first came ashore. The ‘Brutus Stone’ – a small granite boulder, which Brutus is said to have stepped on as he left his ship, is set in the pavement in the main street. He is said to have declared: “Here I stand & here I rest – this town shall be called Totnes”. Personally I’m all for an ancient myth, they add flavour,colour & mystery to what usually degenerates into lauding of the Romans & there’s always a surfeit of that!

In the 12th Century this was a very important market town (something we have no concept of today due to modern modes of delivery). In 1523 it was the 2nd richest town in Devon – no-one decried the town for being ‘different’ then! The Guildhall Council Chambers dates from 30 yrs. later, though some of its walls are from 1088. In 1624 it was converted to a Magistrates Court & during the English Civil War soldiers were billeted here. The large oak table still in the Guildhall was used by Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector & his Commissioner-in-chief, Lord Fairfax for meetings to discuss their plans. The Guildhall was used as a Magistrates court for 450 yrs. & has integral cells for holding felons. It is purported to be haunted!

On the main street is the red, Devonian, sandstone medieval church of St. Mary, which was featured on “How to read churches” (BBC Richard Taylor) due to its rare, surviving stone rood screen – astonishing! The locals took it down & hid it during the reformation. The Elizabethan Eastgate is a fine arch spanning the main high street & close to the Elizabethan House museum. This building dates to 1575 & belonged to one of the wealthy merchants of the town. The photo shows one of the reconstructed rooms in this amazing old house – a view of an apothecary’s shop.

There is a fine example of a Motte & Bailey castle high above the high street, not far from Totnes railway station. So, when you climb that wonderfully historic street full of unique shops & buildings, don’t stop until you have reached the castle!!